England fans fear storm delay after FIFA U-turn confirms 1am BST Mexico kick-off

England will face Mexico in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 at 1am BST on Monday 7 July — midnight local time in Mexico City — after FIFA backed down from a controversial proposal to bring the Estadio Azteca fixture forward by six hours.

FIFA had floated moving the kick-off to avoid heavy thunderstorms forecast for Sunday evening in Mexico City, but the plan drew fierce opposition from both the English FA and the Mexican Football Federation, who argued the change would shatter team preparation schedules and force players to compete in midday heat. FIFA subsequently confirmed the match would proceed at its originally scheduled time.

The high-altitude Estadio Azteca, one of the most storied and demanding venues in world football, gives tournament co-hosts Mexico a significant home-crowd advantage. England are rated a slight favourite by bookmakers, though analysts regard the tie as finely balanced given the conditions Mexico will enjoy.

For supporters in the UK, the fixture presents a late-night challenge. The government confirmed there will be no additional Bank Holiday for the game, though outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer extended pub licensing hours until 5am on Monday to allow fans to watch in a social setting.

The FIFA reversal has done little to calm nerves online. Fans took to Reddit to voice a shared, sardonic fear: that the storms FIFA tried to avoid will arrive during the match regardless.

“Fully expect there will now be a storm delay just to make the farce even worse,” wrote one supporter. Another predicted: “Pubs close at 5am. Delayed game kicks off at 5am.”

Others were equally wry. “It would be kinda funny if it gets rained off and everyone just skives work to watch it at 9am UK time instead,” one fan suggested, while another admitted: “It’s gonna be s**t if it thunderstorms all morning and gets postponed though.”

“Going to be great fun when I wait up until 1am to watch this only for lightning to cancel it anyway,” a further supporter remarked, with one more offering a blunt verdict on the whole episode: “What a mess, classic FIFA.”